15 Things to do in Myeongdong (명동)
1. Get a map.
Stop and pick up a map from one of these people in red jackets and ask for help finding directions. They speak English, Chinese and Korean.
2. Shop for Korean beauty products.
Myeongdong is basically skincare central and just about every Korean beauty brand has a store here. the beauty store hawkers will lure you into their store with a free sheet mask. The nice thing about shopping here is that most people speak english and I think it’s because they mostly focus on selling to foreigners. Also, they always want to cut you a deal. you would think that since it’s a store there are fixed prices, but there always seem to be discounts if you buy in bulk. my tip is to plan what you want to buy ahead of time and look on reddit’s asian beauty forum for product recommendations that suit your skin type. don’t buy a ton of product that you have never tested before because you don’t know how your skin will react.
3. Eat street food.
On friday and saturday nights, the street vendors line up their carts and sell some really delicious street food. If you’re ok walking around and eating you can make a meal out of it. They anything from lobster and scallops grilled in butter to a giant potato chip! There’s lots of meat on a stick, korean rice cakes called dduck, and fish cakes called oden. On one of the back alleyways, there are a couple of street food stands that are there all the time, and they sell ramen, ddokbokki, oden, & fried mandoo. I think street food deserves its own video so I can do another video dedicated entirely to street food.
4. Shop for souvenirs at DAISO.
There is an 8 story DAISO building near Myeongdong station and this is a great place to stop and buy cute junk for your home, Korean snacks, or cheap souvenirs for family and friends. Korean DAISO is very different from Japanese and american DAISO. They carry a lot of their own Korean products, and the many of the Japanese products seem to be marked up for double the price. Some of the Japanese products are the same, but really it’s a totally different store. There’s another large DAISO at Express Bus Terminal that I like a lot more, but this one is really conveniently located for those of you who are just visiting Seoul.
5. Shop for clothes.
If you don’t have time to go to Express Bus Terminal or Gingham Station, you can find some pretty trendy clothes at Myeongdong. I think the prices will probably be a little higher here – maybe a $5-10 difference. If time is limited, you should go ahead and do your clothes shopping here. There’s an underground shopping mall where you can buy clothes, socks and k pop merchandice. There’s also a lot of clothing stores on the street level if you just wander around. If you are into fake designer goods there are some stores here that sell fake YSL, Anya HIndmarch, Issey Miyake, and Fake Supreme stuff is just about everywhere. I would encourage you not to buy fake designer goods in general though because it goes to supporting illegal enterprises that are linked to prostitution and child labor, but if you are ok with that, you can find fake designer goods here in myeongdong.
6. Visit the 7-11 Game Center.
This is where I always play claw machines when I come to Myeongdong. I’ve found that this place is harder to win at than other places in Seoul, but the location is good. THey also have virtual reality which is always fun, and some other carnival games. I also played archery here, which brought me back to my summer camp days. There is also a 7-11 where you can buy Korean snacks and have the Korean convenience store experience. Our family likes to stop here when we go to Myeongdong. This place is constantly changing the layout – once it hat Gatchapons as well but those have been removed.
7. Pick up some Korean snacks at LaLa Mart.
This is a store that sells lots of different Korean snacks. One of my favorite snacks to buy in Korea are honey butter almonds, and This store carries honey butter almonds as well as a ton of other flavors like strawberry, yogurt, seaweed, caramel and pretzel, and more. This store actually carries a lot of flavors that I haven’t seen anywhere else. They also carry other snacks and it’s a great place to stock up on Korean junk food to bring back home.
8. Shop at Art Box for cute stuff.
This is the store in Korea where you will find cute character merchandise. The Myeongdong location is three stories high and has a ton of great spots to snap a cute photo as well. My favorite thing to buy here for out of towers and myself are these I love Korea pins, & magnets. I think this character is super cute especially for friends who are getting married. They have a bride & groom, as well as a queen and king character, and ordinary Korean folks. You can also find blind boxes, beauty products, plushies, face masks like the k pop stars wear, and other cute stuff.
9. Buy character socks from street vendors.
This is probably my #1 souvenir to give to people. I don’t know if these are licensed or not but they carry all your favorite characters – sanrio, totoro, disney princesses, sailor moon, pokemon, and more. You can buy these everywhere in Korea, but might as well pick some out here because there are a ton of sock vendors and you’ll have a good selection. The downside of these socks is that they are basically one size fits all and I wear a size 8 and I think that may be the biggest size foot that you should have to wear these.
10. Take a photo with the giant bear at the LINE store.
You can’t visit Korea without taking a photo with this giant brown bear! There’s often a line to take a photo with the bear if you come during peak hours though. Also check out the line store while you’re at it because they carry really cute merchandise. But if you plan to go to Itaewon, go ahead and skip this because the Itaewon line shop is much bigger and less crowded, and has a full cafe on the 3rd floor.
11. Get rose gelato from Milky Bee.
If you’re in Myeongdong you have to try this gorgeous dessert! It’s gelato shaped like a rose, and you can choose between various flavors – I believe it’s strawberry, matcha green tea, yogurt and chocolate. If it’s a hot day though be sure to snap a quick photo and eat it before it melts! I think in trip advisor or google it says that milky bee is closed and it leads you to the wrong location, but there are actually multiple milky bee locations here in myeongdong. If you wander around you’ll probably run into one of them.
12. Check out the Style Nanda Hotel and Pink Pool Cafe.
contrary to its name, the style nanda hotel is not actually a hotel. It’s a store that sells makeup and clothing but is designed to look like a hotel. I love this store and I think it’s really well done. On the top floor they have the pink pool cafe where you can enjoy drinks that cost about $9 but are topped with a picture perfect puff of cotton candy. When the weather is good, they open up the roof top and you can lounge on pink and white pillows under a white umbrella and sip you expensive drinks. I’ll also mention that the bathroom is pretty clean so I like to use the bathroom here when I come to Myeongdong.
13. Eat at the Innisfree Green Cafe.
This cafe is a korean beauty shop that has a cafe on the second and third floors. It’s a really calm, soothing place to sit and have a healthy snack or meal or just a cup of tea and just rest after you’ve been walking around in myeongdong all day. I went on a weekday and it was pretty empty but I imagine that it fills up quickly on weekends. In any event there is a lot of space . you can do virtual reality and when you’re done eating shop for Korean beauty products on the first floor.
14. Visit the Lotte Department Store for high end cosmetics and duty free shopping.
This is where i came to shop for Olympic merchandise. I will link that video in the description box. Lotte Dept carries higher end Korean brands like Hera and Sulwasoo, and I know that some these products are popular on the Reddit Asian beauty board. Lotte also carries a lot of designer brands. If you are from the States you will probably find that the prices are much higher than what you would pay in the US.
15. Visit Namsan Tower.
If you want to visit Namsan Tower, you can get off at Myeongdong station and walk up this hill for about 7-10 minutes and you will reach the base of Namsan Tower. From there you can either take a cable car or climb all the way to the top. Once you get to the top you can purchase a lock for about $8-20 and leave it on this fence with a million other locks. (or you can try to find one at Daiso and bring it with you, along with a pen to write a message). You can eat here – there are a handful of restaurants. There is also a game center here which we found really difficult, a kids amusement area, and then you can take the elevator to the top of the tower for a nice view of Seoul. There is also a Hello Kitty Museum here.